1) He'll have 4 years of head coaching experience at BYU after this season. All the other candidates have zero head coaching experience either in FBS or at BYU. The next coach will have a steep learning curve.
2) Recruiting rankings don't tell the whole story. A lot of the players who dragged the rankings down look like future starters and playmakers. Our depth looks a lot better than in the past and Kalani has been quick to get rid of the dud players.
3) It's early in the 2019 season. It's going to look a lot better once the penalties/turnovers don't give games away.
4) Utah State just happened to have one of their best seasons in history last season.
5) A lot of the stats against Kalani are skewed by the 2017 season. It may prove to be an outlier, as it was the perfect storm of factors to make it an abysmal season.
6) The new offensive coaching staff is night and day better than the old one. The team chemistry is up and the system is suitable for the talent.